Game Center, Round 8: Week ends with standings even tighter

A dramatic Round 8 was split between big road wins, including a classic overtime thriller between the last two champions, and home victories that were highlighted by a killer fourth-quarter comeback. When the dust on the two-round week had settled, the standings showed two co-leaders again, plus 12 teams right below them that are within two victories of each other.

Khimki Moscow Region 69-77 Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv

Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv won on the road for the first time since opening night by hanging on to beat Khimki Moscow Region 69-77 at Mytishchi Arena on Thursday. The result leaves both teams with 5-3 records. It was Khimki’s first loss at home this season. DeAndre Kane led a 0-11 third-quarter run that gave Maccabi the lead for good. Khimki battled back behind Thomas Robinson to get within 1 in the final minutes, but struggled to score down the stretch and Maccabi raced away with the victory. Pierre Jackson led the winners with 19 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. Robinson posted 17 points and 13 rebounds in defeat.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul 81-82 Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens

Nick Calathes was 1 rebound shy of a triple-double in leading Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens to an 81-82 victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul in a thriller decided at the buzzer at Sinan Erdem Dome. Calathes scored 13 of his career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and also collected 10 assists and 9 rebounds for the Greens, who had to make a defensive stand at the end of fourth quarter for the win. James Gist came through by blocking Errick McCollum’s jump-shot in the last second of an exciting game. Panathinaikos improved to 5-3 with its third consecutive win, while Efes had its two-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 2-6 to remain winless on its home floor this season. Brock Motum scored 21 points for home side in defeat.

Zalgiris Kaunas 77-97 Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz

Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz grabbed its first road win of the EuroLeague season by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 77-97 on Thursday. Baskonia improved to 3-5 in the standings, while Zalgiris dropped to 4-4. Rodrigue Beaubois and Toko Shengelia led the winners with 19 points apiece. Baskonia drained 17 three-point shots for a new club record. Paulius Jankunas led Zalgiris with 20. Baskonia led 36-62 early in the second half, but Zalgiris managed to get within 64-71 on a three-pointer by Aaron White. Beaubois took over in crunch time to keep Baskonia out of trouble until the final buzzer.

Real Madrid 89-57 Unicaja Malaga

Real Madrid bounced back from three straight losses to blow away fellow Spanish side Unicaja Malaga with an emphatic 89-57 victory on Thursday night. Two days after suffering a club record loss at Baskonia, this felt very much like a statement victory for Los Blancos, which was paced by 13 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots from the irrepressible Luka Doncic. Madrid established a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and never stopped accelerating, while dejected Unicaja had no answers. Jaycee Carroll led the scoring with 17 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting, and Rudy Fernandez added 14 points.

CSKA Moscow 93-95 Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul

In the battle of last two champions that went down to the last second of overtime, Nicolo Melli’s buzzer-beating tip-in lifted Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul to a memorable 93-95 road win over CSKA Moscow. In a game that had just about everything, Fenerbahce opened an 18-point lead in the second quarter behind Jan Vesely, but Sergio Rodriguez and Kyle Hines rallied CSKA to the lead after halftime. Fenerbahce regained a 75-82 lead in penultimate minute of the regulation, but Rodriguez's four-point play with 15 seconds left ultimately led to overtime, where another tie was broked on a miraculous tip-in by Melli as the buzzer sounded. Vesely scored a career-high 31 points, while Wanamaker had 13 points and 9 assists and Melli finished with 11 points, all in the fourth quarter and overtime. Fenerbahce improved to 5-3. Rodriguez had 20 points to pace CSKA, which dropped to 6-2.

Olympiacos Piraeus 85-59 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade

Olympiacos Piraeus regained a share of first place in the with a comfortable 85-59 victory over visiting Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade on Friday. Olympiacos raised its record to 6-2, tied with CSKA Moscow, while Zvezda fell to 2-6 with its fourth straight defeat. Nikola Milutinov paced the winners from the start and finished with a double-double of 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Hollis Thompson added 14 points and Ioannis Papapetrou 11. Only Taylor Rochestie reached double digits for the visitors, with 20 points.

AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan 71-62 Brose Bamberg

AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan registered its third win of the season with a stirring come-from-behind 71-62 triumph over the visiting Brose Bamberg on Friday night. The visitors looked to be in control, leading by 11 points in the fourth quarter, when Milan went on a game-breaking run. Mantas Kalnietis scored 10 points during a 24-3 spurt as the hosts turned 46-57 deficit into a 70-60 lead on the way to lifting their record to 3-5. Kalnietis finished with 10 points, and also had 7 rebounds and 3 assists, while Curtis Jerrells and Kaleb Tarczewski scored 12 apiece. Dorell Wright scored 12 points for Brose, whose record dropped to 4-4.

FC Barcelona Lassa 89-71 Valencia Basket

FC Barcelona Lassa grabbed its third win in the 2017-18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by downing Valencia Basket 89-71 at Palau Blaugrana on Friday. Both teams now have a 3-5 records, even though Valencia lost its fourth game in a row. Pierre Oriola paced the winners with 14 points. Adrien Moerman added 13, Kevin Seraphin 12 and Pau Ribas 11 for Barcelona. Tibor Pleiss led Valencia with 13 points. Barcelona already led 50-32 at halftime after hitting 9-of-16 three-point shots and limiting Valencia to just 2-of-9 from downtown until then. Nothing changed after that, as Barcelona kept a double-digit margin until the final buzzer.